Debra Clopton - Operation - Married by Christmas

Published by Steeple Hill Books™

With a vast amount of admiration and gratitude,

this book is dedicated to Joan Marlow Golan,

Executive Editor for Steeple Hill Books.

Thank you for all you do, but most of all thank you

for believing in my first book and buying it.

You made my dream come true!

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Epilogue

She was so close—only five miles from a warm bed and sweet dreams.

She needed oblivion…. She did not need this!

Bleary-eyed and road-weary, Haley Bell Thornton peered through the window of her BMW Roadster and frowned at the cowboy blocking her path. With the stiff-armed motion of a traffic cop he signaled for her to halt.

Behind him stood a group of men hunched over the open hood of a truck that was connected to a cattle trailer. A cattle trailer that was completely blocking the road to Mule Hollow.

Haley was not a happy camper as the tall, lean cowboy strode toward her. Collar flipped up around his chin, he’d pulled his hat low over his eyes to hamper the frigid November wind. Haley groaned wearily when halfway to her car the man halted and responded to something one of the cowboys called out to him. “Come on,” Haley said, snippy from fatigue as she rested her forehead against the steering wheel. She needed sleep and this delay was not in her plan.

Yeah, right, what plan was that?

Haley closed her eyes. As the bride who had backed out of a church chapel, dropped her bouquet on the sidewalk, hopped in her car and sped away with her veil flapping in the wind, Haley couldn’t exactly say she had a plan.

Lost her marbles—now that she could say.

As could everyone else who’d watched her walk out on the groom who had more money than Bill Gates…Okay, so that was stretching things a bit, but in the realm of the ultra-wealthy, Lincoln Billings could hold his own.

She’d warned him, though. Been up-front with him. He’d known full well she didn’t love him. Known she’d attempted to walk the aisle two times prior and had yet to make it to the altar.

But that had only fueled Linc’s competitive spirit, and Haley had gotten caught up in his game. She’d let him talk her into attempting the notorious wedding walk once more.

Attempt being the key word. Poor Linc, he’d so believed his charm and his millions would be the antidote to her problem…. At least it was only his ego she’d damaged and not his heart.

A knuckle rapping on her window brought Haley out of her daze. She blinked and straightened in her seat. Oh, how she needed to get to Grandpa Applegate’s place. She needed to crawl into a warm bed and pull her grandma’s quilt over her head. She just needed to block out the world for a few days and rest.

But she was in Texas cattle country, and she had forgotten that it unfortunately came with unique problems. Like broken-down cattle trailers and shoulderless roads that rendered low-to-the-road sports cars, like hers, useless. Grumpier by the moment, she pressed the button and lowered the window just a crack. Instantly, her car interior chilled and her eyes stung from the bite of the near-freezing wind that whisked through the slight opening.

“I need to get by here. Would you move that thing?” she snapped, giving the cowboy only a quick glance before returning her glare to the no-good trailer.

“Well, ma’am,” he drawled. “I thought that might be your plan. I mean, you are heading north. But as you can see the truck has stalled. And as you can also see, I’m just a mere man.”

The instant she heard his voice, Haley’s gaze whipped from the trailer to his face…or at least she tried to see his face. He was standing too close, and she had to scoot down and angle her head to the side so her car roof didn’t cut him off from sight. Even at this odd angle his features were shadowed beneath his black Stetson. But Haley knew him. She would have recognized Will Sutton’s voice anywhere.

Will’s slow drawl always had done funny things to her heart. Rich and silky, it had never failed to connect with her.

Will Sutton! She snapped out of her stunned surprise and bolted upward so fast she banged her head on the roof. What was he doing back in Mule Hollow?

Her gaze dropped to her gown and she wanted to shrink into the floorboard of her car. Oh, why hadn’t she taken the time to change? Only a crazy woman walked out of her wedding and drove eighteen hours in her wedding dress.

“Haley?” Her name whooshed from his lips as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Haley cringed and ducked her chin; a loose curl slapped her in the forehead and she closed her eyes. She looked like roadkill. A woman wasn’t supposed to look this way when she met—

“Haley, is that you?”

Okay, so she couldn’t very well remain hidden behind a single golden curl and a clear sheet of glass. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t realize she was wearing a wedding dress. After all, it was a simple, elegant Vera Wang sheath. A guy would just look at it and think: white silk dress.

Right?

Her mouth was as dry as dirt and her insides wobbly as she reluctantly let the window down farther. He had bent forward so that he could see her better. Warily, she met his disbelieving gaze. The man had the most gorgeous brown eyes. Soulful and bottomless, with gold flecks that sparkled when the sun hit them just right.

Get over it, Haley! The man hates you. And you’re not too peachy about him, either, remember?

“Will, hello,” she gasped. As a real-estate agent for one of the most prestigious agencies in West Hollywood, she was known for her lightning-quick response in any situation. But with the way her throat closed off now, the only lightning she could hope for was a bolt to strike and put her out of her misery.

Will blinked twice, straightened to his full six foot three inches and let the awkward moment stretch. Endlessly.

Haley swallowed again. Will Sutton was still the best-looking man she’d ever seen.

He was also the first man she’d ever left at the altar. The first man to break her heart. And the last.

“Well, what do you know?” he drawled finally. “Haley Bell Thornton has come home at last.”

His patronizing tone stung and riled her at the same time. “It’s a free country,” she snapped. She had a thing about condescension.

The laugh that escaped his perfect lips was about as disdainful and condescending as it could get. “If it were that free, I’d think you’d come see Applegate every once in a while.”

She bristled against words that cut to the quick. She had neglected her grandpa. “I hardly think what I do is any of your business.” Tension sparked between them sharper than the cutting wind.

“On that count you’d be right, Haley.” His eyes narrowed.

“Look. Are you going to move that thing?” She lifted her chin for good measure while her traitorous heart did a lunge-and-dive maneuver against her ribs. Without warning, her eyes betrayed her and dropped to his hand. But the hand, along with the telltale ring finger, was buried in the pocket of his coat. Astounded at herself, she immediately looked away, hoping he hadn’t seen.